JP3350650B2 - Liquid concentration device and liquid concentration method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid concentrating apparatus for concentrating a liquid, and more particularly to a liquid concentrating apparatus for concentrating waste liquid such as used pickled liquid and reusing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when a pickle such as various vegetables is manufactured in a pickle factory or the like, a predetermined ratio (for example, about 3%) is used.
Ingredients such as vegetables are put into a pickle tank filled with a seasoning liquid containing salt, and after pickling for a certain period of time, the material is pulled up. At this time, it is desirable that the remaining used liquid can be reused. However, since it contains moisture oozing out from materials such as vegetables, the used liquid is less than the salt content required as a seasoning liquid (for example, about 1%). Therefore, such a used liquid has been conventionally discarded as a waste liquid.

[0003]

However, since such used liquid contains a certain amount of salt, it becomes an industrial waste and cannot be disposed of as it is. In other words, it is necessary to recover or dilute the salt in the liquid to make it less than the allowable amount, and then to discharge the salt into the river.
Therefore, in each pickle factory, a device for such dilution or the like is installed, or the disposal is entrusted to a specialized collection company. Therefore, the cost for processing increases, which also affects the product cost.

[0004] The present invention has been proposed to solve the problems of the prior art as described above.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid concentrating apparatus and method for concentrating a liquid such as used waste liquid to a certain concentration at a low cost.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid concentrating apparatus for concentrating a liquid by separating a part of water in the liquid from other components. A plurality of water tanks configured to store liquid, ice making coils provided inside each of the water tanks, and brine is circulated therein and ice adheres to the surface, and the ice making coils of the water tanks are respectively corresponded. A plurality of heat exchanging means for exchanging heat of the brine circulating in the ice making coil with the refrigerant, and a brine circulating means for circulating the brine between each of the heat exchanging means and each of the ice making coils. In the liquid concentrating apparatus, a compression means for compressing the refrigerant to produce a high-temperature refrigerant, a heat pump having a condensing means for condensing and liquefying the refrigerant to produce a high-temperature refrigerant, Means A first refrigerant circulation means for circulating between condensing means, and a second refrigerant circulation means for supplying a high-temperature refrigerant compressed by the compression means to the heat exchange means,
The high-temperature refrigerant compressed by the compression means is supplied to one of the heat exchange means, where the refrigerant condensed by exchanging heat with the brine is supplied to the other heat exchange means, where A third refrigerant circulation unit that returns the refrigerant evaporated by heat exchange with the brine to the compression unit; and a first refrigerant circulation unit, the second refrigerant circulation unit, between the plurality of heat exchange units. It is characterized by comprising switching means for switching between the refrigerant circulating means and the third refrigerant circulating means, and transfer means for transferring the concentrated liquid to another water tank between each of the plurality of water tanks.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a liquid containing water is supplied to the water tank, a part of the water in the liquid becomes ice by the ice making means and adheres to the surface of the ice making means. By taking out the remaining liquid, a concentrated liquid having a reduced proportion of water can be obtained. Specifically, when the cooled refrigerant that circulates through the refrigerant circulation unit is supplied to the heat exchange unit, the brine is cooled, and when the refrigerant compressed by the compression unit by the high-temperature refrigerant circulation unit is supplied, , The brine is heated. When the brine is cooled, the ice-making coil is cooled and ice adheres to its surface. When the brine is heated, the ice adhering to the surface is melted by heating the ice making coil. Therefore, by the switching by the switching means, the brine is cooled to cause ice to adhere to the ice making coil, and after the remaining liquid, that is, the concentrated liquid is taken out, the ice is melted by heating the brine, and only the water is recovered. be able to. When a high-temperature refrigerant compressed by the compression unit is supplied to a certain heat exchange unit, the brine is heated in the heat exchange unit, and the ice making coil is heated in the corresponding water tank.
The refrigerant deprived of the heat by the brine in the heat exchange means is supplied to another heat exchange means by the third refrigerant circulation means, and cools the brine there. Thereby, the ice making coil is cooled in the corresponding water tank. The high-temperature refrigerant that has taken heat from the brine in the heat exchange means is returned to the compression means again. Therefore, by switching the switching means, the refrigerant cooled by the first refrigerant circulating means is circulated between the heat exchange means corresponding to a certain water tank, and the liquid stored in the water tank is concentrated. It is transferred to another water tank by the transfer means, and high-temperature refrigerant is supplied to the heat exchange means corresponding to the first water tank and low-temperature refrigerant is supplied to the heat exchange means corresponding to the next water tank by the third refrigerant circulation means. can do. Thereby, the liquid can be further concentrated. Then, after taking out the concentrated liquid from the last water tank, the water can be recovered by heating the corresponding heat exchange means by the second refrigerant circulation means. Thus, by setting the number of water tanks according to the concentration of the liquid to be concentrated, a concentrated liquid having a desired concentration can be obtained. In addition, since the other water tank can be cooled by using the refrigerant that has heated one water tank, it is possible to simultaneously operate the two water tanks at low cost and with low energy consumption.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid concentrating method for concentrating a liquid by separating a part of the water in the liquid from other components. A plurality of water tanks provided, and a heat exchange means provided for each ice making coil, for exchanging heat between the brine supplied to the ice making coil and a refrigerant, a compression means for compressing the refrigerant to a high-temperature refrigerant, A heat pump including a condensing means for condensing and liquefying the refrigerant to produce a high-temperature refrigerant; storing the liquid in a first water tank of the plurality of water tanks;
The low-temperature refrigerant is supplied to the first heat exchange means corresponding to the water tank, the ice is made to adhere to the ice making coil, the liquid is concentrated, and the concentrated liquid is concentrated in the first of the plurality of water tanks. 2
After being transferred to the water tank, the high-temperature refrigerant is supplied to the first heat exchange means to heat the ice making coil of the first water tank, and the first heat exchange means exchanges heat with the brine. The cooling operation is performed by supplying the low-temperature refrigerant to the second heat exchange means corresponding to the second water tank, and cooling the ice making coil in the second water tank.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the liquid can be concentrated by converting a part of the water in the liquid into ice, and the liquid can be concentrated to a desired concentration by providing a plurality of water tanks. Becomes possible. Further, since the refrigerant used for heating the first water tank can be used as it is for cooling the second water tank, the two water tanks can be simultaneously operated with low cost and energy saving.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [1. Configuration] Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing a configuration of a liquid concentration device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In this figure, reference numerals 1 and 2 denote ice heat storage tanks, respectively, which correspond to water tanks in the claims. The ice heat storage tank 1 is provided with a waste liquid inlet 3 to which a waste liquid such as a used liquid of pickles is supplied, and the ice heat storage tank 2 is provided with a concentrated liquid outlet 4 for discharging the concentrated liquid.
Before the waste liquid is supplied to the ice heat storage tank 1, foreign matter is removed by a filter or the like (not shown). For example, in the case of a used liquid of pickles, the foreign matter is, for example, cut ends of pickles. Alternatively, foreign matter may be removed from the concentrated liquid discharged from the ice heat storage tank 2 by a filter or the like.

Further, the ice heat storage tanks 1 and 2 are connected by a transfer pipe 6 provided with a transfer pump 5 as a transfer means in the claims, and a first ice extracted by a method described later. The concentrated liquid in the heat storage tank 1 is supplied to the second ice heat storage tank 2. The size of the ice heat storage tanks 1 and 2 is determined by the concentration of the required concentrated liquid and the like, and the ice heat storage tank 2 is usually smaller than the ice heat storage tank 1, but is limited to this. is not.

In these ice heat storage tanks 1 and 2, ice making coils 7 and 8 are respectively provided in a meandering manner. One ends of the ice making coils 7 and 8 are configured as brine supply ports 7a and 8a, and the other ends are configured as brine recovery ports 7b and 8b. The brine is supplied from the heat pump 12 to the brine supply ports 7a and 8a, and the brine is recovered by the heat pump 12 through the brine pumps 9 and 10 from the brine recovery ports 7b and 8b.

In the ice storage tanks 1 and 2, when cooled brine is supplied to the ice making coils 7 and 8, ice is generated on the outer periphery of the ice making coils 7 and 8 and heated brine is supplied. Then, the generated ice melts. The melted ice is discharged from a drain outlet 11 in the ice heat storage tank 1 and from the concentrated liquid outlet 4 in the ice heat storage tank 2.

The heat pump 12 includes an air heat exchanger 19 composed of two brine coolers 13 and 14, an accumulator 15, a compressor 16, a blower 17 and a condenser 18, a liquid receiver 20, a strainer 21, expansion valves 22 to 24, Solenoid valve 2
5 to 31, check valves 32 to 37 and a four-way valve 38 are provided. It should be noted that the blind coolers 13 and 14 are described in the claims.
Corresponding to the heat exchange means in the enclosure. Also, the four-way valve 38
Is the core of the switching means in the claims
It is.

The brine cooler 13 includes a brine recovery pipe 40 connected to the brine recovery port 7b of the ice heat storage tank 1;
A brine supply pipe 41 connected to the brine supply port 7a of the ice heat storage tank 1 is attached. Further, the brine cooler 14 is provided with a brine recovery pipe 42 connected to the brine recovery port 8b of the ice heat storage tank 2 and a brine supply pipe 43 connected to the brine supply port 8a of the ice heat storage tank 2. .

Furthermore, the coils of the blind rollers 13, 14 are provided inside, and the coils come into contact with the brine. These Brincoula 13,
At 14, the pressure drops through the expansion valves 23, 22 and the refrigerant supplied through the refrigerant pipes 44, 45 deprives the coil of heat from the brine and becomes refrigerant gas, thereby cooling the brine. Alternatively, the refrigerant gas compressed by the compressor 16 is supplied through the refrigerant pipes 46 and 47 and gives heat to the brine in the coils, thereby heating the brine.

The accumulator 15 includes refrigerant tubes 46 and 4
The liquid in the refrigerant supplied through the refrigerant pipes 8, 50 or the refrigerant pipes 47, 49, 48, 50 is separated, and the refrigerant gas is supplied to the compressor 16 through the refrigerant pipe 51. The compressor 16 compresses the vaporized refrigerant gas until it condenses. The compressed refrigerant gas is supplied to the refrigerant pipe 52 by controlling the four-way valve 38.
Is supplied to the air heat exchanger 19 through the refrigerant pipe 47, or the blind cooler 14 or the refrigerant pipe 47,
It is supplied to the brightener 13 via 53 and 46.

In the air heat exchanger 19, a blower 17 is provided for supplying low-temperature outside air to the condenser 18. The outside air flows through the inside of the condenser 18, so that the refrigerant gas is liquefied. It is configured so that The refrigerant liquefied in the condenser 18 flows into the receiver 20 through the refrigerant pipes 54 and 55, or
In the brine cooler 13 or 14, the refrigerant whose heat has been deprived of the brine is supplied to the refrigerant pipes 44, 56, 55 or 45, 5.
Inflow via 7,55. Further, the refrigerant flowing into the liquid receiver 20 is supplied to the strainer 21 provided in the refrigerant pipe 58.
And flows from the refrigerant pipe 59 to the refrigerant pipe 44 and is supplied to the brine cooler 13 via the solenoid valve 30, the expansion valve 23 and the check valve 33, or flows from the refrigerant pipe 59 to the refrigerant pipe 45, Solenoid valve 29, expansion valve 22, and check valve 3
2, and is supplied to the bunk roller 14. Or,
It flows into the refrigerant pipe 60 and is supplied to the air heat exchanger 19 via the solenoid valve 31, the expansion valve 24 and the check valve 37.

The refrigerant tubes 44, 46, 48, 50 to 5
2,54,55,58,59 or 45,49,48,5
0 to 52, 54, 55, 58, 59 correspond to the first refrigerant circulating means in the claims, and the refrigerant pipes 47, 4
5, 57, 55, 58, 60, 52, 51 correspond to the second refrigerant circulating means, and refrigerant pipes 47, 53, 46, 44, 5
6,55,58,59,45,49,48,50,51
Corresponds to a third refrigerant circulation unit.

[2. Operation] The operation of the liquid concentrator configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

[2-1. Cooling of Ice Thermal Storage Tank 1] First, FIG.
In the above, used waste liquid in a pickle tank (not shown) or the like is supplied to the ice heat storage tank 1 from the waste liquid inlet 3. At this time,
The cooling operation of the ice heat storage tank 1 is performed. That is, the brine cooled by the brine cooler 13 of the heat pump 12 is supplied to the ice making coil 7 from the brine supply port 7 a of the ice heat storage tank 1 via the brine supply pipe 41. In the ice making coil 7, the cooled brine flows in one direction in the direction of the brine collection port 7 b while meandering, and is collected by the brine cooler 13 through the brine collection pipe 40.

The flow in the ice making coil 7 causes heat exchange between the brine and water on the outer periphery of the ice making coil 7, that is, a water component of the waste liquid. As a result, the water in the waste liquid in the ice heat storage tank 1 is discharged. Part is frozen, and ice is generated on the outer periphery of the ice making coil 7.

On the other hand, in the heat pump 12, the above-mentioned brine is cooled by flowing a refrigerant as described below. Here, it is assumed that the refrigerant flows in the direction of arrow A. Further, by switching the four-way valve 38, a flow path in which the refrigerant flows from the compressor 16 to the air heat exchanger 19 is formed.

That is, the refrigerant in the liquid receiver 20 flows from the refrigerant pipes 58 and 59 into the refrigerant pipe 44 and is supplied to the brine cooler 13 after the pressure drops through the expansion valve 23. Then, the refrigerant takes heat from the brine in the brine cooler 13 to become a refrigerant gas, and the refrigerant pipes 46, 4
It is supplied to the accumulator 15 via 8, 50. Then, the refrigerant from which the liquid has been separated in the accumulator 15 is supplied to the compressor 16 via the refrigerant pipe 51 and is compressed until it is condensed. Further, the refrigerant gas compressed and discharged from the compressor 16 is supplied to the air heat exchanger 19 via the refrigerant pipe 52 and liquefied into a low-temperature refrigerant in the blower 17 and the condenser 18, and then the refrigerant pipes 54 and 55. Via the receiver 2
0 is supplied.

By circulating the refrigerant as described above,
The brine is cooled in the brine cooler 13, and ice is generated around the ice making coil 7 in the ice heat storage tank 1. At this time, of the waste liquid supplied to the ice heat storage tank 1, only water adheres to the ice making coil 7 as ice, so that concentrated waste liquid is stored in the ice heat storage tank 1. The concentrated waste liquid, that is, the concentrated liquid, is supplied to the ice heat storage tank 2 via the transfer pipe 6 by the transfer pump 5.

[2-2. Heating of Ice Storage Tank 1 and Cooling of Ice Storage Tank 2] Next, in FIG. 3, the waste liquid concentrated in the ice storage tank 1 as described above is further concentrated in the ice storage tank 2. At this time, a heating operation is performed in the ice heat storage tank 1, and a cooling operation is performed in the ice heat storage tank 2. That is,
The brine heated by the brine cooler 13 of the heat pump 12 is supplied to the ice making coil 7 from the brine supply port 7a of the ice heat storage tank 1 via the brine supply pipe 41, and flows in the meandering manner in the ice making coil 7. As a result, the ice adhering to the outer periphery of the ice making coil 7 is melted and discharged from the drain outlet 11 as drain.

On the other hand, in the ice heat storage tank 2, the heat pump 12
Cooled by the brine cooler 14 is supplied to the brine supply port 8 a of the ice heat storage tank 2 through the brine supply pipe 43.
Is supplied to the ice making coil 8. In the ice making coil 8, the cooled brine flows in one direction in the direction of the brine collection port 8b while meandering, and is collected by the brine cooler 14 through the brine collection pipe 8b.

Due to the flow in the ice making coil 8, the brine and the water around the ice making coil 8, that is, the water component of the concentrated liquid supplied from the ice heat storage tank 1, exchanges heat. Part of the water in the concentrate in the tank 1 is frozen, and ice is generated on the outer periphery of the ice making coil 8.

On the other hand, in the heat pump 12, the refrigerant flows as follows, so that the brine is heated in the brine cooler 13 and the brine is cooled in the brine cooler 14. Here, it is assumed that the refrigerant flows in the direction of arrow B. Further, the switching of the four-way valve 38 causes the refrigerant to flow from the compressor 16 to the refrigerant pipe 4.
7 is formed.

That is, the refrigerant in the receiver 20 flows from the cooling pipes 58 and 59 into the refrigerant pipe 45, and is supplied to the brine cooler 14 after the pressure drops through the expansion valve 22. Then, the refrigerant takes heat from the brine in the brine cooler 14 to become a refrigerant gas, and the refrigerant pipes 49, 4
It is supplied to the accumulator 15 via 8, 50. Then, the refrigerant is supplied to the compressor 16 via the refrigerant pipe 51 and is compressed to a high temperature and a high pressure.
It is supplied to the brightener 13 via 3 and 46. The refrigerant is liquefied by applying heat to the brine in the brine cooler 13, and the refrigerant pipes 44, 56, 55
Is supplied to the liquid receiver 20 via the

By circulating the refrigerant as described above,
The brine is cooled in the brine cooler 14 and ice is generated around the ice making coil 8 in the ice heat storage tank 2. At this time, of the concentrated liquid supplied to the ice heat storage tank 2, only water adheres to the ice making coil 8 as ice, so that a more concentrated concentrated liquid is stored in the ice heat storage tank 2.
On the other hand, as the brine is heated in the brine cooler 13, as described above, the melted water is discharged from the ice heat storage tank 1 as drain from the drain outlet 11.

[2-3. Cooling of Ice Thermal Storage Tank 2] Next, FIG.
When the drain is discharged from the ice heat storage tank 1 as described above, the heating operation in the ice heat storage tank 1 ends, and only the cooling operation of the ice heat storage tank 2 is performed. At this time, as in the case described above, the brine cooled by the brine cooler 14 of the heat pump 12 is supplied to the ice heat storage tank 2 so that ice is generated in the ice making coil 8.

On the other hand, in the heat pump 12, a refrigerant flows as follows. Here, it is assumed that the refrigerant flows in the direction of arrow C. Further, by switching the four-way valve 38, a flow path in which the refrigerant flows from the compressor 16 to the air exchanger 19 is formed. That is, the ice heat storage tank 1 shown in FIG.
When heating is performed simultaneously, the refrigerant compressed in the compressor 16 is supplied to the brine cooler 13 through the refrigerant pipes 47, 53, and 46. In this case, the compressor 16
Is supplied to the air exchanger 19. After the refrigerant is condensed in the air exchanger 19, the refrigerant pipes 54 and 55
Is supplied to the liquid receiver 20 through the refrigerant pipes 58, 59, 4
5, and is supplied to the brightener 14.

By circulating the refrigerant as described above,
The brine is cooled in the brine cooler 14, and ice is generated around the ice making coil 8 in the ice heat storage tank 2, and only the water in the concentrated liquid becomes ice. The concentrated liquid thus further concentrated is discharged from the concentrated liquid outlet 4 and reused in a pickle tank (not shown) or the like.

[2-4. Heating of ice heat storage tank 2] Next, after the concentrated solution 4 is discharged as described above, in FIG.
The heating operation is performed in the ice heat storage tank 2. That is, the brine heated by the brine cooler 14 of the heat pump 12 is supplied to the ice making coil 8 of the ice heat storage tank 2, and the ice attached to the outer periphery of the ice making coil 8 is melted by meandering in the inside. Then, this water is discharged from the concentrated liquid outlet 4 as drain.

On the other hand, in the heat pump 12, the brine is heated in the brine cooler 14 by the flow of the refrigerant as described below. Here, it is assumed that the refrigerant flows in the direction of arrow D. Further, by switching the four-way valve 38, a flow path in which the refrigerant flows from the compressor 16 to the refrigerant pipe 47 is formed.

That is, the refrigerant in the liquid receiver 20 flows from the cooling pipe 58 to the refrigerant pipe 60, and after the pressure drops through the expansion valve 24, passes through the air heat exchanger 19 and passes through the refrigerant pipes 52, 52.
After passing through the accumulator 15 through 50, the refrigerant pipe 51
Is supplied to the compressor 16 via the. And the compressor 16
The refrigerant gas compressed and discharged at high temperature and pressure in
The coolant is supplied to the brine cooler 14 through the refrigerant pipe 47, and is liquefied by applying heat to the brine. Thereafter, the liquefied refrigerant is passed through the refrigerant pipes 45 and 57 to the receiver 2.
0 is supplied.

By circulating the refrigerant as described above,
The brine is heated in the brine cooler 14, and as described above, the ice in the ice making coil 8 is melted and discharged from the concentrated liquid outlet 4 as drain.

[3. Effect] As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the ice heat storage tank 1, only the water of the waste liquid becomes ice and adheres to the ice making coil 7, so that the remaining liquid can be taken out as a concentrated liquid. In addition, this is supplied to the ice heat storage tank 2, and similarly, only water becomes ice and adheres to the ice making coil 8, so that a more concentrated liquid can be taken out.

As described above, by appropriately concentrating the waste liquid, the concentrated liquid can be reused. That is, in the case of a used liquid of pickles, the concentrated liquid can be used again as a seasoning liquid of pickles. Further, since the water taken out as a drain does not contain a salt, it can be discharged as a waste liquid as it is, and there is no need to install an expensive device for dilution or the like.

As shown in FIG. 3, when heating the ice heat storage tank 1 and cooling the ice heat storage tank 2,
Since the brine cooled by the brine cooler 14 using the refrigerant whose heat has been deprived in 3 is used, the two ice heat storage tanks 1 and 2 can be operated at low cost and energy saving.

[4. Other Embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various embodiments as described below are possible. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the ice storage tank 1 may be cooled when the ice storage tank 2 shown in FIG. 5 is heated. That is, as shown by the arrow E, the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 16 is supplied to the refrigerant pipe 47.
To the brine cooler 14 and supply it to the refrigerant pipe 4
5, 57, 55, the liquid receiver 20, the refrigerant pipes 58, 59, the expansion valve 23, the refrigerant pipe 44, and the like,
To supply. Then, the refrigerant cooled by the brine cooler 13 is returned to the compressor 16 again.

Thus, when a large amount of waste liquid is continuously concentrated in the small ice storage tanks 1 and 2, the concentration in the ice storage tank 2 is completed, and after the concentrated liquid is taken out, the ice storage tank 2 is removed. Is heated to melt the ice of the ice making coil 8, the next waste liquid is supplied to the ice heat storage tank 1 and the ice heat storage tank 1 can be cooled. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently concentrate both in terms of time and cost.

The number of the ice storage tanks is not limited to two, but may be one or three or more depending on the concentration of the concentrated liquid to be taken out. In that case, the refrigerant used for heating the ice heat storage tank after transferring the concentrated liquid may be used as it is for cooling the next ice heat storage tank, and the refrigerant pipes may be sequentially switched or a plurality of heat pumps may be provided. Is also good. Alternatively, between the two ice heat storage tanks, the second ice heat storage tank may be returned to the first ice heat storage tank, and the ice heat storage tank may be cooled to concentrate again. Further, the waste liquid to be concentrated is not limited to the used liquid of pickles, but may be any other waste liquid that needs to be reduced in water content and concentrated.

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the case of a used liquid, only the water contained in the liquid can be concentrated by freezing and separating it, so that it can be reused. Can be. Further, since only water can be taken out, it can be discarded without performing treatment such as dilution. Therefore, in the case of a factory or the like, the cost for waste liquid treatment is not increased, and the product cost can be reduced.

Also, since a plurality of water tanks are provided and the refrigerant used to heat one water tank can be used as it is to cool the other water tank, the two water tanks can be operated simultaneously at low cost and with low energy consumption. It is possible to do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing a configuration of a liquid concentration device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a cooling operation of the ice heat storage tank 1 in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a heating operation of the ice heat storage tank 1 and a cooling operation of the ice heat storage tank 2 in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a cooling operation of the ice heat storage tank 2 in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a heating operation of the ice heat storage tank 2 in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a case where a cooling operation of the ice heat storage tank 1 is performed during a heating operation of the ice heat storage tank 2 as another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1,2 ... ice heat storage tank 5 ... transfer pump 6 ... transfer pipe 7,8 ... ice making coil 12 ... heat pump 13,14 ... brain cooler 15 ... accumulator 16 ... compressor 17 ... blower 18 ... condenser 19 ... air heat exchanger 20: liquid receiver 22-24: expansion valve 38: four-way valve 44-60: refrigerant pipe

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-1-148385 (JP, A) JP-A-7-110174 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) C02F 1/20-1/26 F25B 19/00-30/06

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A liquid concentrating device for concentrating a liquid by separating a part of water in the liquid from other components, the liquid concentrating device comprising: a plurality of water tanks configured to store the liquid; An ice-making coil which is provided inside and in which brine circulates and ice adheres to the surface; and a brine which is provided in correspondence with each of the ice-making coils of the water tank and circulates in the ice-making coil, heats the refrigerant and heat. A plurality of heat exchange means for exchanging, and a liquid concentrating device including a brine circulating means for circulating the brine between each of the heat exchanging means and each of the ice making coils. And a heat pump having a condensing unit that condenses and liquefies the refrigerant to convert the refrigerant into a low-temperature refrigerant; and a first refrigerant circulating unit that circulates the refrigerant between the heat exchange unit, the compression unit, and the condensing unit. Said A second refrigerant circulation unit that supplies the high-temperature refrigerant compressed by the compression unit to the heat exchange unit; and supplies the high-temperature refrigerant compressed by the compression unit to one of the heat exchange units. A third refrigerant circulation unit that supplies the refrigerant condensed by exchanging heat with brine to another heat exchange unit, and returns the refrigerant evaporated by exchanging heat with the brine thereto to the compression unit; Switching means for switching the first refrigerant circulating means, the second refrigerant circulating means, and the third refrigerant circulating means between the plurality of heat exchange means, and between each of the plurality of water tanks And a transfer means for transferring the concentrated liquid to another water tank. 2. A liquid concentrating method for concentrating a liquid by separating a part of water in the liquid from other components, comprising a plurality of water tanks having therein an ice making coil to which ice adheres to a surface. A heat exchange unit provided for each ice-making coil, for exchanging heat between the brine supplied to the ice-making coil and a refrigerant, a compression unit for compressing the refrigerant to a high-temperature refrigerant, and condensing the refrigerant. A heat pump including a condensing unit that liquefies and converts the liquid to a low-temperature refrigerant, the liquid is stored in a first water tank of the plurality of water tanks, and the first heat exchange unit corresponding to the first water tank includes the heat pump. A low-temperature refrigerant is supplied, ice is attached to the ice making coil, the liquid is concentrated, and the concentrated liquid is transferred to a second water tank of the plurality of water tanks. Supplying the high-temperature refrigerant to heat exchange means, Heating the ice making coil, and supplying the refrigerant cooled to a low temperature by exchanging heat with the brine by the first heat exchange means to a second heat exchange means corresponding to the second water tank. Cooling the ice making coil of the second water tank.